Speer: Super Bowl XLII one of greatest games ever

February 05, 2008|By Jeremy Speer

Like a Disney-ized Hollywood upset story, the underdog New York Giants confidentelly marched into Super Bowl 42 and outplayed the unbeaten New England Patriots, widely considered the best team in NFL history.

It was a day in which Eli Manning outplayed Tom Brady, where Tom Coughlin outfoxed Bill Belichick and where the bad karma of the Patriots’ Spygate controversy finally caught up with them.

As a fan with no allegiance to either team, it was a wildly entertaining fourth quarter. The first three quarters were a bit of a snoozer (along with the commercials), with the only highlight’s being Tom Petty’s excellent halftime show. But that fourth quarter will go down among the hallowed moments in football history. The Giants taking control, the Patriots making their last gasp and realizing they’d come up short of perfection.

Where does this rank on the list of greatest upsets of the modern era? It is obviously high. As high as the USA hockey team knocking off Russia in 1980. No, because of the overriding political connotations associated with the game, but it is more along the lines of the Arizona Diamondbacks shocking the New York Yankees in the 2001 World Series. That was arguably the strongest Yankees team of their modern dynasty and the upstart D-Backs shocked the world similar to what the Giants did.

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An upset of this magnitude is also similar to a shocking upset in the NCAA Tournament — perhaps a 15 seed beating a 2 seed — one which sends ripples through the sports world.

In the NBA it would have been the equivalent of Jordan’s Bulls losing to anyone during their magical run. Sure, there was another team in the NBA Finals, but the Bulls, much like the Patriots, were the main attraction.

In NFL history, the only paralleled moment came in Super Bowl III where Joe Namath’s New York Jets shocked the heavily-favored Baltimore Colts.

New York. New York. It happened to the Jets and now the Giants. Rooting for the underdog and the possibility of upset are what makes sports special, as is the chase for perfection. The junction of these two dramatic themes is what made the fourth quarter of Super Bowl 42 the most exciting of my lifetime.

Speaking of Super Bowls, the Mannings have now won the past two MVPs as Eli’s performance during the entire playoffs was capped with an excellent Super Bowl outing. It’s type for people to finally jump off Eli’s back. Look, he’s not Peyton — he doesn’t have the outward fire or leadership and may not be quite as talented — but his trophy case is now just as full as his brother’s.

Like it or not, a Super Bowl win cements a quarterback’s place in football lore and for that, Eli Manning will now be looked upon in a different light. With this pressure now alleviated, look for Eli to shine in future years and maybe, just maybe we will see an all-Manning Super Bowl soon.

Clink. Clink. That’s the sound of the 1972 Dolphins hitting their champagne glasses. That team survived its greatest brush and still remains standing as the only undefeated football team in NFL history. The Patriots must now re-load and try it again. There is no doubt this New England team is tremendous, perhaps proving the point that winning 19 games is just too difficult for any NFL team to do in the modern era.